Birchstone's Advisers Day

We're excited to host our inaugural Advisers Day on 11 November at The Melbourne Hotel! Don't worry if you can't attend in person, we will also be streaming and recording every session so you can watch the sessions on demand or live 📹 

The day will be jam-packed with technical sessions curated for professionals in the SME space, featuring presentations from our specialist tax and estate planning lawyers and our special guests the Hon Rene Le Miere KC and Grahame Young. 

There will also be time to unwind over drinks and networking from 5pm.

Click here to download the event brochure. 

Continuing Professional Development

All attendees will receive a CPD Certificate for the event. Western Australian lawyers will receive 6 CPD points in Competency Area 4 - Substantive Law.

Tickets

In-person and online tickets are available for purchase. 

In-person attendees have access to early bird tickets for $149 per ticket until Friday, 28 October ✨ Additionally, in-person attendees can buy 3 tickets and receive the 4th free.

Agenda

7:45am - 8:30am        Check in

8:30am - 9:30am        Session 1

Limits on Trustee Discretion | Hon. Rene La Miere KC

9:30am - 10:30am      Session 2

Tax Consolidation & SMEs: Why, When and How? | Daniel Taborsky & Nathan White

10:30am - 11:00am    Morning Tea

11:00am - 12:00pm    Session 3

Making a Grand Exit: SMSFs & Succession | Lisa Monaco

12:00pm - 1:00pm      Session 4

Part IVA: Recent Developments & Practical Insights | Daniel Taborsky & Shivani Jethwa 

1:00pm - 2:00pm        Lunch

2:00pm - 3:00pm        Session 5

Navigating Common Trust and Duty Mistakes | Grahame Young

3:00pm - 3:30pm        Afternoon Tea

3:30pm - 5:00pm        Session 6

Workshop: Future-proofing a Family Business | Daniel Taborsky, Lisa Monaco, Shivani Jethwa & Nathan White 

Session 1   |   Limits on Trustee Discretion   |   Hon. Rene La Miere KC

It is not often that a case on trustees’ exercise of discretionary powers goes viral but comments on the recent decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal in Owies v JJE Nominees Pty Ltd have spread widely on the internet. Owies v JJE Nominees has not changed the law concerning the exercise of trustees’ discretionary powers but the decision, like the earlier decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal in Wareham v Marsella, makes it clear that a trustee must recognise that it is exercising fiduciary power. A trustee is not free to do what it likes with trust property; it must give real and genuine consideration to the exercise of its discretion in favour of the objects of the trust.

Session 2   |   Tax Consolidation & SMEs: Why, When and How?   |   Daniel Taborsky & Nathan White 

When it was first introduced, tax consolidation was thought of as something that only applied to the 'big end of town'. As more time has passed, that has become less and less true. Tax consolidation is, and should be, something you are looking at for your SME clients.

In this session, Daniel Taborsky and Nathan White go over the 'why, when and how' of tax consolidation and explain its potential benefits (and potential pitfalls) for SMEs.

Topics that will be covered include:

• why consolidate a SME group (when does it make sense to, and when does it not);
• an overview of the eligibility requirements and the consolidation process (on formation and the entry/exit of new subsidiaries to/from the group); and
• common SME consolidation issues.

Session 3   |   Making a Grand Exit: SMSFs & Succession   |   Lisa Monaco 

SMSF succession planning needs to ensure two outcomes, namely that both:

• control of the SMSF; and
• the death benefits themselves;

pass to the 'right people'.

If you have ever wondered:

• do my clients with an SMSF need to plan for death and incapacity separately?
• what is an 'SMSF Will' (and is it really an alternative to a BDBN)?
• should we wind up an SMSF or pass it on to the next generation?
• can a superannuation proceeds trust be set up after death if it's not already written in the Will?
• does the SMSF deed really need another update?
• how can non-lawyers discuss and assist with SMSF succession without straying into legal practice?

then this session is for you!

Session 4   |    Part IVA: Recent Developments & Practical Insights    |   Daniel Taborsky & Shivani Jethwa 

This session will commence with a discussion of recent Part IVA developments, particularly the case of Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 1092 where the Court considered the application of the general anti-avoidance provisions in Part IVA to the exercise of a trustee's discretion.

In the second part of this session we will provide an insight into the practical application of Part IVA including:

• navigating the provisions with case study examples which will illustrate the key concepts underpinning Part IVA;
• identifying the Part IVA warning signs; 
• advising clients on the application of Part IVA; and
• managing Part IVA risks.

Session 5   |   Navigating Common Trust and Duty Mistakes   |   Grahame Young

Trust and duty – the topics that keep on giving. In this session, Grahame Young will provide his practical insights in relation to common trust and duty issues that arise in practice for accountants. Some key issues this session will cover include:

• What is the perpetuity period and why should you care?
• Is there a trustee?
• Who are the beneficiaries of the trust?
• Are the distributions invalid and what are the consequences?
• How can landholder duty apply to discretionary trusts?  
• Transfer duty traps such as:
  • Trust acquisitions and surrenders;
  • Disposition of shares of a corporate trustee of a discretionary trust;
  • Change of trustee;
  • Partnership buy-outs; and
  • Declarations of trust and the no double duty provisions.

Session 6   |   Workshop: Future-proofing a Family Business   |   Daniel Taborsky, Shivani Jethwa, Lisa Monaco & Nathan White

In an interactive workshop style session, we will demonstrate how to navigate the restructure of a family business taking into account not only the tax and duty implications, but also the client's succession planning intentions.

We will cover:

• the technical and practical issues that inform the approach to a restructure;
• a comparison of the available roll-overs and concessions (including the small business restructure roll-over and the small business CGT concessions);
• the duty implications of restructuring; and
• the interplay of the client's intentions in relation to the future ownership and control of the business.